Busy in retirement and 2017

Hi Well here we are up to May and my what a busy few months it has been. 

I worked casual at NETS from July 2016 to Febuary 2017 and then made the decision that work was colliding with my social life and that it was time to cut the strings from a career that I loved.

Onwards and forward for me, I still continue with my first passion, quilting but it is amazing at how busy life can become once retired.

First of three UFO's completed

 In March  after a good clean out of excess goods that I had purchased over the years, had to be gone, so we had a Garage sale  and although we were rained out, I did manage to get rid of a lot of stuff, we will have to repeat the sale when it is better weather. All booked for Third week in April.

Just some of my collectables for sale.

In Sydney we had constant rain for 6 weeks where flooding occurred in some parts of NSW and QLD. 

Some lives were also lost, so tragic.

A second finish for March, my "Jungle Safari" quilt.

In March a group of friends and myself travelled to Lake Burrendong for our biannual quilt camp, fun and productivity  was had by all.

Sandy with her completed rope bag

Viv with a half completed Irish chain.

 I myself this year was dedicating my time to finishing off my UFO' s, having completed three already, I then felt that I could allow myself to start another one, not a wise decision as I have not picked it up since quilt camp.  

My Storm at Sea Quilt commenced.

My third finish for March, this jelly roll quilt stacked log cabin, I had commenced at Quilt camp last August.

In April I had visitors from NZ, Marg and Marc and we had a fun filled three days and got the opportunity to showcase our beautiful blue mountains to our NZ couple.

DH and Marc enjoying the sculptures exhibited in the Blue Mountains

The third weekend in April we repeated our garage sale and managed to get rid of a lot more stuff, so after a donation to the Op shop, we are all sorted and more space has been created.

My newly recovered wing chair, a great use of tapestries and collectable fabrics.

The last weekend in April is also the Springwood quilt show, where I always try to enter a few of my quilts each year, this year, I entered two.

"Eden" hand appliqued

"Frida" an attic window design and all my collectable's from my trip to Mexico, Frida Khalo a very modern woman before her time and I am fascinated with her life and paintings, this quilt is a tribute to her and her life.

A couple of tuffets whipped up

My completed rope bag, now sold, what a chore and a challenge to make.

 I entered two and also had the opportunity to be part Of The Unique Treasures stand, a very busy month in April, sorting through all my fabrics to destatsh, make bags, brackets, cushions, pin cushions, get rid of linen that I had collected over the years to do something with, but never did, time to have a clean up.

The quilt show as always was a great success, quilts were of good quality workmanship, food was good, stallholders are of a high standard and all the committee works very hard to deliver a great show.

Now on the countdown for our big trip in June.

September happenings

What a busy month September has proven to be, DH and I are busy planning our big adventure for next year, where Paducah, Kentucy will be  another thing ticked of my bucket list. I am busy attending quilts shows, flower festivals and finishing a number of UFO's. Enough to keep me out of mischief.

At present in Sydney, there are a couple of quilt exhibitions on at present, one in the Manly regional Gallery and another in Gymea,in the Hazelhurst Gallery, both are great and well worth a look. Manly has an exhibition of quilts from the collection of Annette Gero, this is a great collection of wartime quilts, mainly made from military uniforms, lapels, wool and intricate hand work. Photos were allowed to be taken for personal use only and not for social media.

Manly Regional Gallery

 Hazlehurst Gallery has a great collection of early Australian made quilts, no photos were allowed to be taken, I did manage to purchase the book, called "Labours of Love", which has photos of the quilts exhibited. Hazlehurst gallery is a great place to visit and have lunch. The quilts mainly from late 1800's were hand pieced or EPP. I have just completed one similar to one of the quilts on display, a quilt made with fussy cut shapes to make a hexagon.The quilt made by Fredriricka Mary Josephine was the inspiration for the Springwood quilt show raffle quilt in 2012, varied slightly with a centre reproduction panel, The quilt was called "Homage"

My finished version of FMJ quilt.

Another quite large quilt, measuring 2.97 mrts by 2.47mtrs. 

Entrance to Hazelhurst Gallery

Cafe and eating area.

 The year 2015 has proven to be a very productive year for me in finishing UFO's and making a couple of quick quilts for gifts to give to family. I have also dabbled into some Zen doodling, which has proven to be quiet therapeutic and created some cushions. Adult colouring books are quite the rage these days, a wonderful way to bring a little calm into very stressed lives.

I am in the midst of setting up a sewing area, rearranging my fabrics so that it can be a bit easier to find my fabrics when commencing another project, as I have so much fabric, I have set myself an amazing task. Whilst doing some tidying up, it is time to purge and get rid of some fabric as well. Windsor Downs annual garage sale is on the 14 th November, so the perfect opportunity arose to have a big clean up.

In the middle ofSeptember, 

 I took the opportunity to fly to Toowoomba to visit my sister and enjoy the festivities with "Carnival of flowers". The carnival celebrates a whole week of flowers, garden competitions, quilt shows, teapot extravaganza, clivia shows and craft demonstrations. My sister and I had a great time attending all the events that the carnival f flowers had to offer.

I will share with you a couple of quilts from the three shows we visited.

Aptly named "Cathederal Windows" all hexagons.

Susan Smith design" Stonefield"

 I had a wonderful time with my sister, touring gardens, visiting three quilt shows, teapot display and arts and craft at Geham.

The Geeham school hall where the arts and crafts display was held.

Me in the grand champion garden in Twoowoomba

My sister Esme, being a wonderful companion and holding her sisters purchases, interesting, seeing I bought a lot of plants and will be flying home .

Well this post has been in the making for awhile, got kinda busy with spring cleaning etc, now we are well into October, time to get a move on.

I will leave you with a photo of my adorable grandson.